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Media Reframe IDF Strike on Terrorists in Gaza School to Vilify Israel
Palestinians pass by the gate of an UNRWA-run school in Nablus in the West Bank. Photo: Reuters/Abed Omar Qusini.
Early on Thursday, June 6, the IDF announced that it had targeted Hamas terrorists inside an UNRWA school in Gaza.
But media outlets reframed the incident by omitting the terrorists’ presence, and emphasizing the number of casualties of the Israeli airstrike, making Israel look like it deliberately attacked innocent schoolchildren.
Eliminated: several Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists who embedded themselves inside of an @UNRWA school.
IAF fighter jets conducted a precise strike on a Hamas compound embedded inside the school in the area of Nuseirat. These terrorists belonged to the Nukhba Forces and… pic.twitter.com/2AX28twfVs
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 6, 2024
In fact, Israel said the eliminated terrorists had taken part in the October 7 massacre in southern Israel, and exploited the school to launch more attacks against Israeli troops.
By ignoring or burying this fact to focus on the plight of innocent victims, media outlets provided the exact kind of coverage that Hamas hopes for when its terrorists use civilians as human shields.
Omitting the Terrorists
CNN’s headline, for example, parroted Hamas and omitted the Israeli claim about the presence of terrorists (which is mentioned only in the 5th paragraph):
Axios did the same, shamelessly leading with data from the “Hamas-controlled Gaza government press office,” and burying Israel’s statement about the terrorists in the fourth paragraph (which many readers don’t get to):
BBC and Voice of America’s headlines also ignored the terrorists.
And while TIME Magazine and The Guardian mentioned Israel’s targeting of terrorists high up in their stories, their headlines ignored it. Interestingly, TIME‘s editor chose a long headline with descriptive details about children and shelter, so it clearly wasn’t an issue of space:
Sky News’ tweet caption on the incident sounded like it came from a Hamas propaganda channel: “An Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza has killed dozens of people, including children, local officials say.”
An Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza has killed dozens of people, including children, local officials say.@alexrossiSKY has the latest.
More: https://t.co/GWardzBnJy
Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/vc5uDpanSf
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 6, 2024
Ignoring the Facts
Surprisingly, the wire services — which provide news to the outlets mentioned above — got it right.
Reuters’ headline read: “Dozens reported killed in strike on Gaza school that Israel says targeted Hamas.”
And the AP’s headline was: “Israeli strike kills at least 33 people at a Gaza school the military claims was being used by Hamas.”
Why didn’t other media outlets follow suit? Why did editors and writers choose to dance to Hamas’ tune?
These questions are particularly important in light of mounting evidence that Hamas has been systematically using UNRWA schools for terror purposes — including launching an anti-tank missile at Israeli troops last week.
Yet, virtually no media have touched this issue by reporting the Hamas abuses of facilities such as schools to carry out military operations. It’s only when Israel responds by striking these targets (which become legitimate military targets under international law by virtue of the presence of terrorists within) that makes headline news.
Ignoring the facts serves Hamas. And news consumers deserve better than being fed terrorist propaganda.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Media Reframe IDF Strike on Terrorists in Gaza School to Vilify Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.